On January 31, 1798, Joseph Howland bought Township 4-Range 3, Howland Township, for $12,903.23 and an equalizing portion of Township 1-Range 10, Springfield Township, in a lottery distributing Connecticut's Western Reserve lands. On February 26, 1803, Dr. John Seely bought 85 acres in Howland Township that included a mineral springs and developed it into a health spa for the treatment of scrofulous and dyspeptic diseases. The spa became the township's center for culture and recreation, and future Presidents James A. Garfield and William McKinley were reported as frequent visitors. In 1873, the Shedd brothers built a three-story hotel south of the springs with a dance hall, billiard room, and bowling alley. The hotel flourished until fire destroyed it on June 16, 1882, and recreational use of the springs consequently diminished. Today, the sale of spring water throughout northeastern Ohio makes Howland Springs the oldest continuous business in Howland Township.